The question for today’s blog isn’t really a topic that I considered much while in Belfast. While I did have the opportunity to speak to so many people from Ulster, very few seem affected by their respective opposing religion. Our tour guide, Neill, told me that he lives in an area where “Catholics and Protestants live together and everything is fine”. While I do question how “fine” everything really is, he seemed strangely nonchalant about it. Another man I spoke to from Derry told me his best friend is protestant, while he is catholic. Whenever I asked someone about the troubles and how they felt, they almost instantaneously told me that its not relevant anymore. I have a hard time believing them because I also learned that the last big act of violence happened just a year ago on Marching Day. Since we’re now rapidly approaching Marching Day this year, I’m curious to see what ensues. All that being said, I find it easier than I expected to write / talk / think about the troubles with an unbiased attitude. I still think about the horrors of these times and I’ve learned so much that really scares me. I do know that progress has been made and it takes time to get over something so huge. Belfast still has walls up all around town and most people claim it would be chaos if they were to come down but some already have and I guess that’s a first step? Derry has a newly constructed peace bridge that connects the Catholic and Protestants. I understand that people suffered greatly but I feel like I can still observe and learn from an unbiased standpoint.

On a completely separate note, we did go to Belfast Pride over the weekend. The parade was Saturday morning and I could really feel a sense of community and acceptance (aside from the very small group of religious protestors who were confined by gates and guards). Although our hostel was incredibly crowded and a little (very) creepy, I still had a fantastic time being able to mingle with people from all over the world.